Darkest Desire

15. Temptation and Seduction (EDITED)

Having detention with Severus wasn't as bad as Aurora thought it would be.

That is, if you just did what you were told without questioning. Fall into line like a good little witch and take orders without a seconds hesitation.

Sadly enough, she wasn't one to bow her head and do as she was told.

Which meant her life became a living hell by the hands of the Potions Master.

Aurora understood that she had crossed a line and actually might deserve some sort of punishment or reprimand for her behaviour, as was customary for such acts of transgressions in a academic setting. But she also knew that Severus Snape was taking a particular delight by imparting her punishment in whatever degrading or demeaning manner he saw fit. It was as if he was secretly delighted by forcing her submission, despite not showing anything but that dispassionate blank stare that forever seemed to grace his features these days. 

Sometimes he would just leave her to her work and only come to check on her every few hours, to see her progress. Those were the good days, and Aurora definitely preferred them over the alternative. On others he would stay in his classroom, grading papers and correcting homework. Which meant that he could watch her work, always finding something about her actions that he didn't like, some invisible flaw in her handiwork or some complaint about the quality of the work she was delivering. Which of course Aurora didn't take too kindly to.  And so the two of them would end up screaming and yelling at each other again. Well, Aurora did all the yelling and the screaming. Severus just bellowed and shouted, most of the time only raising his voice a bit while she ranted away at him. He seemed to have gotten a stronger hold on his temper, perhaps one born out of necessity. Aurora on the other hand out of sheer rebellion refused to reign in her temper, which let to more godawful fights and arguments.  The two of them couldn't spend five minutes in each-others company without trying to kill each-other. He infuriated her so, and yet he always seemed to pick out the fights with something close to enjoyment. Not that he'd ever show it, but she could see the flash of glee in his eyes when he challenged her yet again, or some hint of amusement he failed to properly hide when he forced her compliance with another one of his ridiculous demands. 

It had been a week, and Aurora still spent every evening down in those clammy and cold dungeons. She had cleaned dirty and rusty cauldrons, of course, with no magic. She  had scrubbed the floors of the dungeons and swept the ceilings clean of any lingering spiderwebs, of which the quantity definitely let something to be desired. She had re-organized all the supplies in the Ingredients Chamber, cataloged all the instruments and equipment in the storage rooms, cleaned out the broom-closet in the dungeon hallway, and even gone through all the spare textbooks to mend the dilapidated covers and cracked spines. Severus seemingly had an endless list of manual labour , of things that needed sorting and stuff that required cleaning. The sheer infinite amount of work he seemed to conjure out of thin air infuriated Aurora to no end, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Aurora was tired of the eternal fighting, of the continued bickering, and yet she couldn't find it within herself to just give in. She could not-would not- give Severus the satisfaction of knowing he had broken her.  She knew it was childish, and a part of her loathed the part of herself that Severus seemed to bring up with each argument. And yet she couldn't surrender. She simply could not remain quiet when Snape made one of his mean remarks. Because every time the two of them fought fought, Aurora saw the flashes of someone else. Another man, someone that was different from the arrogant bastard that toyed with her like a cat does with a mouse. Beyond the snide comments and irate observations lay a sharp intellect and a quick-witted mind that prickled her curiosity and tempted Aurora to push harder, to try and find out more of the man behind the mask. Because the cold and distant facade he kept up started showing some cracks during their more heated arguments, the dismissive austerity shifting into a tacit attentiveness towards the young witch, curious as to why someone would challenge him so.